I long for the days of Matthew McConaughey in movies other than cheesy romantic comedies, but here's hoping this one is at least slightly better than most.

Movie Grade: C-

DVD Grade: C

I really, really want to meet Matthew McConaughey, if only so I can ask him a single, one-word
question: ìWhy?î After breaking the ice with that, Iíd go on to ask him why he continues to waste what I still
believe to be acting talent on horrible, big Hollywood movies that are as predictable as they are stupid. This is the
same guy that has been fantastic in Dazed and Confused, Frailty, and even stole some scenes in Tropic Thunder.
However, heís also the same guy collecting a hefty paycheck in Failure to Launch and Foolís Gold. Now, along
comes his latest opus, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which on the surface, makes us long for his good films, but, is
actually, a bit more entertaining than I initially expected, although not by much.

Connor Mead (McConaughey) is a hotshot fashion photographer who has so many disposable girlfriends that heís
forced to dump a trio of them via teleconference. Despite his declaration of marriage as a worthless institution,
Connor makes his way to his brother, Paulís (Breckin Meyer) wedding to the lovely Sandra (Lacey Chabert). At the
wedding, Connor sees his first love, Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), the one woman heís ever seen as more than just
a sex object. The problem is, he would never admit such a thing to himself, let alone Jenny, so Connor life has
always been lacking something. On the night before the wedding, Connor is visited by three (well, four, actually)
ghosts who set out to show him all of the mistakes heís made throughout his love life, all the while attempting to
show this pig what heís been missing all along.

Even before he sees his first ghost, McConaughey sure seems to like to talk to himself in this movie. Perhaps things
would have turned out better, if the ghosts never did appear, and McConaugheyís character turned out to not only
be an egotistical, clueless idiot, but also a schizophrenic thatís dangerous to both himself and those around him.
Now that would have been a hell of a flick! However, weíre clearly in McConaughey-Land here, where thereís no
room for anything even remotely edgy, let alone intelligent or endearing. The best thing that can be said about this,
in relation to the actorís other fluff is that there really arenít any overly embarrassing moments, just uneventful set
piece after set piece.

Enough about McConaughey for a while, letís focus on the only at least slightly amusing aspect of this mess, the
titular ghosts. The first is an apparition of the girl he lost his virginity to (Emma Stone), who takes Connor on a tour
of his relationship history up through his 20ís. How the second ghost can even serve as a ghost is beyond me, but
this is easily the worst of the three specters and not really even worth elaborating on. The third and final ghost (Olga
Maliouk) appears in true ghostly form and, while her identity is never truly explained, the possibility of who she
might be is the lone bit of the film that at least warrants some post-viewing discussion. Thereís also a fourth ghost
that appears at numerous times throughout the film, in the form of Connorís Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), but
his presence is to seemingly serve as an homage to Hugh Hefner. In all, the ghosts, themselves are as hit and miss
as the movie itself, but, given the total garbage that McConaughey has been serving up lately, ìhit and missî is a
step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, just when things are getting at least slightly deep with the appearance of the ìfuture ghost,î we get
the totally expected, fluff Hollywood ending. Itís as predictable as they come, with McConaughey (and Garner, for
that matter) being seemingly contractually obligated to be a part of the sappiest finales in Hollywood history. Plus,
if you can get through Connorís Best Man Toast without wanting to throw something at the TV, then by all means,
let this non-seasonal version of A Christmas Carol become your go-to movie during the Christmas season. For the
rest of us, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a one and done experience, at worst. This Blu-ray release is as
unspectacular as the movie, with disappointing audio and video quality, and a few extras that are really only for
the filmís fans.